Parents yesterday attacked the school admission system as unfair as they jostled to secure places for their children at prestigious primary establishments. Hundreds of parents queued outside 49 application centres across the SAR early yesterday to submit forms for the final round of Primary One admissions, which ended yesterday. The applicants are the first batch to take part in the new system, which cuts the proportion of discretionary places in schools from 65 to 50 per cent. About 30,000 pupils who missed out on the discretionary placing stage earlier had to apply under the central allocation. They will probably receive offers from schools near where they live, although parents can also choose up to three schools outside the district. The department received about 1,700 inquiries over the weekend about the new system. In Kowloon Tong, which has the most prestigious schools, parents said the new system was unfair. 'I think competition has become fiercer,' said businessman Kent Ng. 'There are not enough places in the district, but now 10 per cent of those places have to go to those who don't even live here. That is unfair. 'I know friends who moved to Kowloon Tong because they wanted to get a place. All their sacrifices will be in vain if they cannot get a place.' Mr Ng said he preferred admissions to be based on exam and interview results. He would let his son Haydr, five, go to a private school if they could not secure a place at La Salle Primary School. Taxi driver Kong Yiu-yam claimed many parents living outside Kowloon Tong had 'poached' school places in the district with false addresses. 'They just buy a mail address or use their relatives' address to apply. That makes it more difficult for us who do live here to get into a school that is close to home,' he said. He hoped his five-year-old son, Sam Kong Chun-yin, could be admitted to Kowloon Tong Primary School. This year, government and subsidised primary schools are not allowed to conduct face-to-face interviews or written exams to select pupils for the discretionary places. The new system is aimed at stopping schools relying on interviews to select pupils, a method that educationalists argued placed too much pressure on pre-school children.
